AIRS and graces? Not for Nikki Sanderson. Despite having experienced life on the sets of two of the country’s biggest soaps, this self-confessed “Bury bumpkin” is refreshingly down to earth.

The 29-year-old actress made her name as Coronation Street’s ditzy Candice before a spell on Heartbeat, a tour with the Vagina Monologues and the covers of Loaded, Maxim and FHM lead her to Hollyoaks’ door to play the impulsive Maxine.

And Blackpool-born Nikki, who was brought up in Bury from a young age, still has close ties to the town. “I still live in the Bury area — Bury really has a lot going for it and is a great town to live in,” she said.

“Because I have lived in Bury pretty much my whole life, I rarely get noticed — people aren’t that bothered.”

An alumnus of Tottington High, Nikki practised drama at the Carol Godby theatre workshop in Whitefield and got her break with Corrie in 2005, while still a student.

“I was always that really annoying kid who wanted to sing and dance and make a fool of herself all the time at school,” she laughs.

“Taking the Coronation Street job while I was still at school meant I was extremely busy; doing school work, filming, homework and line-learning all at the same time.

“I was tired and it was tough, but I would not change any of it.

“My life was not sacrificed in any way — I was still a kid, still a teenager, still went to parties and the cinema with my friends and I have a really good mum. she kept me grounded.”

And it seems this Bury girl at heart also has a heart of gold, having completed three London marathons as patron of charity When You Wish Upon a Star, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening and terminal illnesses.

“I have been involved with When You Wish Upon a Star since I was 15 — they do wonderful things for very sick children,” she said. “These kids are so resilient. as adults we moan about the smallest things and they have been through so much and always find something to smile about.

“The wishes might not cost much but have a massive impact — each wish is so special to the child who has asked for it.

“I have helped them in different ways but it’s always something crazy — after injuring my hip and knee at this year’s marathon I have accepted I won’t be running 26 miles for them again so next I want to jump out of a plane.”

Nikki first got involved in charity work at the age of five when a young family friend was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

“This was back at the time when anyone who wanted pioneering brain tumour treatment had to raise the funds to go to America to have it,” Nikki said.

“As a child I did not understand how she could not get help, so I told my mum I would get people to give me money for swimming a long way.

“I raised about £200, asking everyone, I knew but the day I got the cheque the little girl passed away.

“I instead gave the money to a brain tumour charity and since then have always been involved in fundraising.”

Her first Hollyoaks episode aired in November, and quashing any Corrie reappearance rumours Nikki insists she plans to be part of the teen soap for the foreseeable future.